A beautiful city less than an hour away from Tokyo. A shinkansen interchange for those travelling between Niigata and Nagano. A city filled with daruma dolls and once a major producer of silk in Japan.
These are the traits that make “City of Good Luck” a soulful escape. Takasaki City (高崎市) of Gunma Prefecture (群馬県) is a quiet and unassuming city between the bustling megacity of Tokyo and the picturesque nature of Japan’s countryside. But what exactly is there to do in Takasaki? Explore this charming city with two local attractions: soup pasta and Initial D.
Soup pasta
Gunma Prefecture produces most of Japan’s wheat and because of that, the existence of pasta is surprisingly significant in Takasaki. In fact, Takasaki is known as the City of Pasta! They love their pasta so much that every year, they hold a contest called “King of Pasta“. Every year in November, all the Italian restaurants in the city would gather at this event to pit the flavor and appeal of their pasta against each other.
While there are the usual Italian sauces like carbonara or the usual Japanese ones like mentaiko to try, the city has a unique dish called soup pasta. Unlike macaroni soup, this is a noodle dish served on a flat dish with a sauce that is more of a broth that is no less flavourful than a sauce but light enough to drink.
Mount Haruna
If you are not a fan of pasta but love cars, you would know that Mount Haruna (榛名山) is the mecca for Initial D fans! The fictional Mount Akina is actually based on Mount Haruna in Takasaki. Simply pick up a car from a car rental nearby Takasaki Station and you’re on your way to reliving Takumi Fujiwara’s daily tofu delivery routes!
If you don’t drive, you can simply opt for a direct bus ride from Takasaki Station (高崎駅) to Lake Haruna (榛名湖) or the base of Mount Haruna, and enjoy a pleasant ropeway journey up and down the mountain.
Harunasan Ropeway (榛名山ロープウェイ)
Address: 845-1 Harunasan, Takasaki, Gunma 370-3348
Access: 1 hour 25 minutes by bus from Takasaki Station (高崎駅). Alight at the last stop “Lake Haruna”. The ropeway is a 20-minute walk from the bus stop.
D’z Racing Cafe Garage
One of the places to stop by along the way is the D’z Racing Cafe Garage at the neighbouring city of Shibukawa (渋川), which is an Initial D-themed cafe with tons of memorabilia, cars and cool things to check out.
D’z Racing Cafe Garage
Address: 3715-1 Shibukawa, Gunma 377-0008
Access: 15-minute bus ride from Shibukawa Station (渋川駅). Alight at
Whether you’re a pasta fanatic, a car geek, or simply an Initial D fan, you just have to visit the beautiful lucky city. Just a short shinkansen ride from Tokyo will bring you directly to Takasaki City. With a JR EAST PASS (Nagano, Niigata area) or JR EAST PASS (Tohoku area), you can enjoy discounted travel not only to Takasaki but also to other destinations within the pass’s coverage area in East Japan.
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Header image credit: ©JNTO / Yasufumi Nishi
